"Her vampire persona?" Dwayne asked. "Are you saying she's like a multiple personality or something?"
Greg hesitated again, then tossed an apologetic look her way, and said, "Yes. She's disassociated with two distinct personalities. One is just--" He shrugged. "Lissianna. The other thinks she is a two-hundred-year-old vampire who walks the night."
"But--" Father Joseph broke off with a curse when his phone rang again. Pulling it from his pocket, he growled, "Yes?"
Lissianna glanced toward Greg, noting that aside from his pallor, telltale beads of sweat were gathering on his forehead. He was really suffering. Turning back to their would-be killers, she concentrated on Dwayne. Of the two, she suspected his belief that they were vampires was the more shaken by the tale Greg had come up with. Father Joseph was resisting because if it was true that they weren't vampires, then he would have to accept that he'd tried to stake an innocent woman. He'd rather believe that he was on a mission for God.
Her attempt to slip into Dwayne's presently confused mind came to an abrupt end when Father Joseph said sharply, "It doesn't matter where I am. I'm on my way right now. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
He shut off his phone with disgust and turned his attention back to them. "We have to finish this. I have to get back now. There is no more time for discussion."
"Then you should let us go." Greg took a step forward as he spoke, then froze as a gunshot exploded in the room.
"Oh Jesus," Dwayne breathed. "I didn't mean to do that. Why did he move? I didn't mean..."
Lissianna peered from him to Greg with confusion.
"What--?" she began, then paused as Greg turned slowly toward her and she saw the blood spreading on his chest.
Aware of the sudden roaring in her ears, Lissianna focused on the bright red patch and noted that the longer she stared, the darker and larger it seemed to get. Soon her vision was filled with it, then she experienced a falling sensation and realized she was fainting.
Chapter 22
"Don't open your eyes, you might faint again."
Those were the first words Lissianna heard. Her eyes had been fluttering in preparation of opening as she regained consciousness, but she squeezed them tightly closed and took a slow breath. "Greg?"
"Yes."
"You're on my right?" Lissianna asked, though she could tell he was from the direction his voice was coming. She asked the question simply to make him speak again. She hadn't been quite awake when he'd first spoken, and the word "yes" was nothing to judge by, but Lissianna thought his voice sounded a little odd.
"Yes. I guess that makes me your right-hand man." The words were followed by a forced chuckle. By her guess the sound was coming through his teeth, as was his speech. The man had his teeth clenched, telling her he was in horrible pain.
She turned her head to the left, opened her eyes and found herself staring out on a sunny backyard. There was no sign of either Father Joseph or Dwayne, and Lissianna was sure that she and Greg were presently alone in the glassed-in sunporch.
When she turned her head just a little more, Lissianna was able to see that she was seated, leaning against the only nonglass wall in the sunroom. Her arms were drawn up over her head, hanging by chains attached to her wrists. She was chained to the wall.
"Shades of medieval England," she muttered, then asked Greg, "Are you chained to the wall as well?"
"Yes."
Lissianna nodded. "What happened? Why didn't they kill us?"
"Well, your fainting at the sight of blood rather confused them since it doesn't fit with their image of a big bad vampire," he said with derision. "Now they don't know what to think. Father Joseph was in a state. He didn't know what to do, but he had to go and couldn't give it the time he felt it deserved at the moment, so they decided to chain us up until he deals with this emergency at the shelter."
"You mean they don't believe we're vampires anymore and still just took off and left you wounded and bleeding?" Lissianna asked with amazement.
"Yeah, well that's the thing," Greg said, and Lissianna was now positive he was talking through gritted teeth. "Your Father Joe rushed forward to help me after you fainted. He opened my shirt and started mopping up the blood, then he and Dwayne got into an argument about whether to call for an ambulance or not. Father Joseph was insisting they should, I think he was falling for the story after all. Dwayne didn't want to--he was afraid he'd go to jail for shooting me. Father Joseph finally convinced him to call, then turned back to tend my wound again and noticed it had gotten smaller. He told Dwayne to hang up."
"Oh dear," Lissianna murmured.
"Yeah," Greg agreed on a weary sigh. "He was upset that the silver bullet didn't kill me... speaking of which, the bullet came out while they were arguing. How did it--?"
"The nanos would consider it a foreign body and work to get it out."
"Incredible." He sighed.
"Not really, the body does the same thing naturally with slivers and such." She glanced up at the chains again. "So they plan to take care of us when Father Joseph gets back?"